Community Housing Cymru’s Post

A second important housing article to look at.

We welcome the prioritisation of social and affordable housing in this year’s budget and funding of £768 million to deliver the social and affordable homes Scotland needs. This money is essential to tackle the housing emergency, kick start our building programme and deliver the homes we need to tackle homelessness. However we also need the government to prioritise and maintain a long term focus on housing in Scotland. The restoration of £200 million more for affordable housing means we are still spending less in real terms than the budget in 2023/24, which was lacking at that time. Since then, we have had 13 local authorities and the Scottish Parliament all declare housing emergencies, alongside horrifying levels of homelessness presentations and children living in temporary accommodation. Today’s budget must be the start of a long term and cross party consensus on building social and affordable housing. I hope all political parties agree to prioritise building more homes and improving housing outcomes, so everyone has a safe affordable home to live in

The Budget 2024/25 has introduced a range of new initiatives to assist Australians in building, renting, and buying homes! One key announcement is the "Homes for Australia" plan by the Albanese Government, aiming to provide comprehensive support for housing needs nationwide. Additionally, various funds have been allocated to accelerate the delivery of more homes, including $1 billion for crisis and transitional accommodation, $1 billion for infrastructure projects to support new housing, $9.3 billion for social housing and homelessness support, among others. What are your thoughts on these initiatives? How do you think it will impact housing accessibility and affordability?

With the general election only a week away, and in the midst of both a housing crisis and a cost of living crisis, it is crucial for people to have secure, affordable homes. The UK's housing crisis affects us all, with too many families in temporary accommodation and too many people worrying about how they will afford to keep a roof over their heads. By focusing on housing, we can create stronger communities and ensure everyone has a place to call home. It’s time for the government to take housing seriously and make it a top priority. #PlanForHousing

Last week’s budget included one of the highest tax increases, but how will that money be used to end homelessness? 🤔 Here’s the budget explained: - 💷 £233 million announced to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, aiming to relieve the financial strain on local authorities. - 🏗️ An extra £500 million for social housebuilding — set to add up to 5,000 additional social homes. - 🏠 Changes to the Right to Buy scheme to help limit the number of social homes lost to the private sector and allow councils to keep and reinvest money from council house sales. These are positive steps toward ending homelessness, but there’s a long road ahead. Consistent funding and commitment to ending homelessness are needed. Our Government must build 43,000 affordable homes each year for current and future Londoners, yet only a quarter were built in 2023-24. Until we see the housebuilding we need, councils will struggle to cover the increasing costs of the homelessness emergency and thousands of Londoners will continue to wake up in cold, poor-quality temporary accommodation. We’re hopeful Labour will keep pushing forward and ensure everyone has a safe place to call home. 🏠 #Budget24 #AutumnBudget #Budget #AffordableHousing #SocialHousing #LondonHousing #HousingCrisis #LabourParty

It was encouraging to see the First Minister’s comments this week that his Government will engage constructively to expand housing supply to meet the needs of the population and tackle homelessness, as he outlined the Scottish Government’s four priorities to eradicate child poverty, grow Scotland’s economy, tackle the climate emergency and improve Scotland’s public services. However, given that Scotland declared a national housing emergency little over a week ago, it was disappointing not to see increasing housing supply listed as a core priority in it's own right. Quite simply, without an adequate supply of high quality, warm and sustainable homes across all tenures, the other four priorities cannot be achieved. Ahead of the Programme for Government, it is crucial that the First Minister and his cabinet forensically examine all policy portfolios to ensure the solutions and regulatory reform required to address the housing emergency are evidenced and considered. While the next six weeks will undoubtedly divert the focus of most towards the outcome of the forthcoming general election, HFS and our members are ready to work with the Scottish Government to ensure the housing emergency declaration is matched with an appropriate emergency response which aligns with a focus on new housing delivery across the Scottish Government, local authorities and those delivering the much needed new homes.

We are supporting the National Housing Federation’s #Planforhousing campaign. England is currently in a housing emergency, and if we don’t act now, then by 2030 every school in England will have an average 7 children who are homeless and living in temporary accommodation and 85 are living in overcrowded houses. As we head towards the next general election, we are calling for a plan to fix the housing crisis. What housing associations need is a long-term plan that is comprehensive and maps out policies, funding resources and ensures that they all point in the same direction. Dr Valerie Vaughan-Dick MBE FRCGP (Hons), Chair of Wandle’s Board said, “Wandle’s core purpose is to provide good quality, genuinely affordable homes in south London, for those who need them the most. “We’re supporting the National Housing Federation’s call for a long-term plan for housing. We want to work in collaboration with the next government to end the housing crisis and to make a real difference to people who need it most.” You can read more about the campaign here > https://lnkd.in/eyFXdCX8. 

The Federal Government's housing measures in its budget has been a major let down. Our analysis shows that, adjusted for inflation, the Federal Government's housing spend is less than previous funding under the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement. Even if half the funding went to new supply initiatives, it would only support building less than 400 social and affordable homes in NSW annually – far short of the thousands needed. With nearly 60,000 people waiting for social housing, there are community housing providers ready to build. But they need the government to help with funding. It’s clear we can’t rely on the Federal Government. It’s now up to our government here in NSW. We urge the NSW Government to step up in the upcoming state budget and invest in real solutions to the State’s housing crisis.

Our Broken Housing System: Wesley Mission is a Community Housing Provider (Tier 2). We enjoy the privilege of serving just over 500 tenancies with more than 700 residents. Most of our tenancies are social housing or crisis/transitional housing. As a Housing Provider at the sharp edge of the system, we see the housing crisis Australia is facing in sharp relief. Here are some stats that tell just a sliver of the story: In September 2023 we were housing 6% of those who applied with us. Just six months later, in March 2024, that number has dropped to 3%. In August 2023 we had 315 applicants on our wait list. In March 2024 we have 417. We will soon have more people on our wait list than we house. In March 2024, more than 90% of those we housed in crisis/transitional housing and general social housing were homeless when they applied. There is so much stress and suffering behind these statistics. The hard truth is that tinkering around the edges will not fix a broken and inequitable system that has been decades in the making. Root and branch reform, including of our tax system, will be necessary. Those of us who’ve benefited hugely from the system as it is, effectively accumulating taxpayer subsidised wealth, must be ready to give up some of those advantages if we do believe in access and equity for all - and that safe and affordable housing is a fundamental human right. #housing #homelessness

Ahead of the upcoming Budget on 30 October, our latest analysis shows a £700m funding gap for London boroughs next year. Today we've warned that housing and homelessness pressures pose the fastest-growing risk to boroughs and are wreaking havoc on town hall finances in the capital. As our Chair, Cllr Claire Holland, says: "At a time when we need to invest in social housing and support homeless Londoners, boroughs are facing an unrelenting squeeze on our resources. The unavoidable reality is that spiralling costs and years of underfunding threaten to break boroughs’ budgets. “The current outlook is bleak, but we are committed to working with the government to find a better way forward. The upcoming Budget is a crucial chance for the government to restore much-needed stability to council finances and the local services we provide. This will enable boroughs to play our part in tackling the capital’s housing crisis and driving economic growth in London and across the country.” Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e56CmXZR #localgov #housingcrisis #homelessness #Budget2024